One of the European parliament's most senior officials was expelled from her party after being arrested over corruption charges related to a “Gulf country”.
Eva Kaili, a 44-year-old Greek socialist politician, was arrested on Friday after four others were detained for questioning.
Belgian prosecutors claimed the "unnamed country" tried to influence the parliament with gifts and money. While prosecutors refrained from naming the Gulf country, sources close to the case confirmed to AFP that it was the World Cup host Qatar.
Friday's arrest comes following at least 16 raids conducted in Brussels, which Belgian prosecutors said uncovered £516,000. Computers and mobile phones were also seized by the authorities to examine the possible influence of the Middle Eastern country.
Aside from Ms Kaili, at least three of those quizzed by officials were either Italian citizens or originally came from Italy. Former Italian member of the European parliament Pier-Antonio Panzeri, who served as a socialist between 2004 and 2019, was also arrested.
They were questioned on Saturday over suspected “corruption” and “money laundering”, the prosecutors said. Several bags full of cash were found at Ms Kaili's Brussels home, Belgian newspaper L’Echo reported.
Searches were conducted at her home after her father was caught carrying a large amount of money in a suitcase.
For two years, Belgian federal police inspectors “suspected a country from the Persian Gulf of influencing economic and political decisions of the European parliament”, the prosecutors said in a statement.
“This is done so by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to third parties with a significant political and/or strategic position within the European parliament.”
Ms Kaili, a former television presenter, met Qatar’s labour minister Ali bin Samikh Al-Marri just before the World Cup in November. In a video statement shared by the Qatar News Agency, the socialist said: “I believe the World Cup for Arabs has been a great tool for... political transformation and reforms.”
She added that the parliament “recognised and respected” the Gulf nation’s progress in labour reforms.
A government spokesperson said Qatar was not aware of “details of an investigation” and any “claims of misconduct by the state of Qatar are gravely misinformed”.
The country "operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations”, the spokesperson was quoted by AFP as saying.
Nikos Androulakis, the president of the Greek socialists (PASOK), announced on Friday that Ms Kaili had been expelled from the party. It said: “Following the latest developments and the investigation by Belgian authorities into corruption of European officials, MEP Eva Kaili is expelled from PASOK-Movement.”
The expulsion was followed by a suspension of her membership by the Socialists and Democrats group in the European parliament. “We are appalled by the allegations of corruption in the European institutions,” the group said in a statement.
